Residents sought for PFAS and vaccine study

May 4, 2021 | Peter Currier
peter@thewestfieldnewsgroup.com

WESTFIELD – City residents who have recently received a COVID-19 vaccination – or are about to – are sought for a new study at the University of Massachusetts.

Researchers at UMass Amherst are seeking volunteers for a study to learn more about the effects of perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances on one’s immune response from the COVID-19 vaccines.

The study of Massachusetts residents will include children aged 12 to 17 and adults over the age of 18. To participate, one must have no previous conditions that would affect their immune system. Participants must also intend to be vaccinated in the coming weeks or have already been vaccinated within two weeks of taking a sample.

One thousand Massachusetts residents are being sought to participate in the study. Participants will need to collect dried blood spot samples over the course of one year. The blood spot samples will be used to measure PFAS levels in their blood and their response to the COVID-19 vaccine.

At-Large City Councilor Kristen Mello said state Sen. John C. Velis and state Rep. Kelly W. Pease and their staffers worked to get this study funded.

Sample kit distribution for the study began on April 26. Enrollment for the study will continue until 1,000 volunteers are signed up. Researchers for the study anticipate that at least one of the existing COVID-19 vaccines will be approved for people under the age of 17 soon, which is why they are being included in the study.

To enroll in the study, email mass-pfas@umass.edu and request a signup link.

“These samples will not be vials of blood taken, but dried blood spot cards that participants prepare themselves,” said Mello.

In a letter detailing the specific aims of the study, UMass researcher Dr. Youssef Oulhote said PFAS substances can adversely affect the development of a person’s immune system in laboratory and human studies. He said there is some evidence of PFAS having an effect on vaccine-induced antibody response. He also suggested that PFAS could exacerbate COVID-19 symptoms.

"Therefore, PFAS may have the potential via immunotoxicity to exacerbate COVID-19 respiratory symptoms or more generally the severity of the disease through a direct or indirect mechanism as shown in two recent studies with increased risk of severe illness and mortality in populations highly exposed to PFAS,” said Oulhote in his letter. “It is, however, unclear whether higher exposure to PFAS may impact antibody response to the new developed COVID-19 vaccines; a high priority public health issue.”

Oulhote said that Westfield was chosen because they already know the background levels of PFAS in the community due a study that was conducted by the CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) last year. That study showed Westfield residents had notably higher levels of certain PFAS compounds than the rest of the country. He said the vaccine study is also open to residents of neighboring communities such as Holyoke and Springfield.

“We do not know much about the exposures of the other communities. The only thing we are certain about is that many PFAS compounds are detectable in more than 95 percent of the U.S. population. Also, we do not know whether there are safe levels, and less about the potential effects of these compounds on multiple health outcomes,” said Oulhote.

Mello said in an April 7 letter detailing the need for the study that Westfield is a perfect community to conduct the study because of the differences in PFAS exposure between the north and south sides of the city.

“Westfield is a city divided roughly in half by the Westfield River as it flows from west to east through the city. Municipal wells on the north side of the river are contaminated with PFAS, while southside water resources have not tested positive for PFAS,” said Mello, “Since the city’s residents are roughly divided in half by the river, there is a tremendous advantage to performing this study on this population where one half was, by circumstance, more heavily exposed to PFAS than the other.”

Oulhote said that there is some evidence that some PFAS compounds can have immunosuppressive effects, which could mean that they could theoretically lower the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines.

“The National Toxicology program conducted a systematic review to evaluate the evidence on exposure to PFOA or PFOS and immune-related health effects to determine whether exposure to either chemical is associated with immunotoxicity for humans. The report concluded that the evidence that these chemicals affect multiple aspects of the immune system supports the overall conclusion that both PFOA and PFOS alter immune functions in humans,” said Oulhote.

He said that additional studies in the Faroe Islands and other parts of the U.S. found that these compounds can have a suppressive effect on one’s response to the tetanus and diphtheria vaccines.

“It is unclear whether higher exposure to these substances may impact antibody response to the newly developed Covid19 vaccines, a high priority public health issue,” said Oulhote.

Mello said that the ATSDR study found that residents in Westfield’s north side had a higher level of some PFAS compounds in their blood than the national average.

“Of the 459 northside residents who participated in the ATSDR’s PFAS Exposure Assessment investigating PFAS concentrations in their blood serum: 92 percent of participants had more PFHxS in their blood than the national average, 67 percent had more PFOA, 61 percent had more PFOS, 52 percent had more PFDA, and 36 percent had more PFNA than the national average,” said Mello in her letter. “All of the PFAS found to accumulate in the lungs were found in groundwater samples from Westfield, MA, taken by the Air National Guard in their Expanded Site Inspection at Barnes Air National Guard Base.”

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